Kathleen Blanco

Kathleen Blanco (15 December 1942-) was Governor of Louisiana (D) from 12 January 2004 to 14 January 2008, succeeding Mike Foster and preceding Bobby Jindal.

Biography
Kathleen Babineaux was born in New Iberia, Louisiana in 1942 to two parents of Cajun ancestry, and she graduated from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in 1964 with a bachelor of science degree. She became a business teacher before being elected to the State House of Representatives from the 4th district in 1984, serving until 1989; she succeeded Luke LeBlanc and preceded Jerry LeBlanc. In 1996, she succeeded Melinda Schwegmann as Lieutenant-Governor under the Republican governor, Mike Foster, and she was elected Governor in 2004, defeating Bobby Jindal. Blanco prioritized education investment, recruited businesses for Louisiana, and was responsible for the response to the destructive Hurricane Katrina, deploying the US National Guard to ward off looters. Blanco also lobbied for increased federal relief effort funding in the aftermath of the hurricane (she even argued that Mississippi received more relief funds because it was ruled by a Republican governor), and she signed a bill that would outlaw all abortions (regardless of if they were caused by rape or incest) that would take effect if Roe v. Wade was overturned by the government. She did not seek re-election in 2007.